The norris pctcss cd



(No-Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. M. POINDEXTER. BOOK SUPPORT FOR CHAIRS.

No. 467,311. Patented Jan. 19', 1-892.

(NoModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet '2'.

w. M. POINDEXTER. BOOK SUPPORT FOR CHAIRS.

No. 467,311. Patented Jan. 19, 189 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM M. POINDEXTER, OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLU MBIA.

BOOK- SUPPORT FOR CHAIRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,311, dated January 19, 1892.

' Application filed February 14, 1890. Serial No. 340,446. (No model.)

1'0 a whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. POINDEX- ,7 TER, a citizen of the United States, residing which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments to chairs as a temporary support for books or papers, the attachment in this case being designed more especially for use on chairs where a number of them are arranged side by side in rows, as in the class or lecture rooms of schools, colleges, and similar institutions; and it consists in so connecting and arranging the shelf or support with the arm of a chair that it can be drawn up from the side of the chair and arranged in a horizontal position on the arms of the chair without interference with the adjoining chair or its occupant, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figures 1 and 3 are perspective views of a chair with my improvement in position for use. Fig. 2 is a front view of achair, showing the shelf or support in the position it occupies when not in use; and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are views showing details of construction and modifications thereof.

It is customary in lecture-rooms of colleges and similar institutions for the students to take notes, which it is ditficult for them to do, for the reason that they usually occupy chairs set close together in rows, and which have no convenient or sufficient support for the book or paper on which to write their notes.

The object of this invention therefore is to provide such support and to so arrange it in connection with the chair that when not in use it will hang suspended at the side of'the chair and yet be capable of being drawn up and made to rest upon the arms of the chair without interfering with the adjoining chairs or their occupants. To accomplish this result I provide a support B, in the form of a narrow shelf, about six inches in width (more or less) and of sufficient length to reach across and rest upon the two arms Aand A of the chair, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. To secure this shelf B to the chair, so that it shall always be in position for use when needed and permit of its being changed from a vertical to a horizontal position, and vice versa, I provide a plate 0 of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in cross-section enlarged in Fig. 4 and secure it to the arm A of the chair, as shown. This plate or guide is made of the. proper shape to fit upon the edge of the arm A, as shown, Figs. 1 and 4 representing it as being applied to a square-edged arm and Fig. 2 to an arm, the edge of which is rounded, or which may be wholly round, like those shown in Fig. 7, it being designed to apply it to chairs having either flat or round arms, as circumstances may require, it being provided with screwholes, so that any person being provided with the shelf and the plate can readily attach it to the chair. This plate 0, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, is made to project beyond the edge of the arm A and is provided with a slot of the proper size to receive the shelf B and permit the latter to slide freely therein. At-

each end of the slot the plate is provided with a raised portion a, with a cavity in their under faces, as shown clearly in Figs 5 and 6, which serve as sockets for the reception of laterallyprojecting ears or studs 0, secured to the edges of the shelf B at its lower end, when the shelf is drawn up vertically in the slot. These projecting lugs or ears 0 not only serve as stops to preventthe shelf from being drawn entirely out of the slot, but in connection with the sockets of the plate they serve as a hinge or joint, which enables the shelf after being drawn up to be swung over into a horizontal position, with its opposite end resting on the other arm A, as shown in Fig. 1, when it is in position for use. As this; shelf when not in use is to hang suspended side of the chair, as shownin Fig. 2,, M ;ust have some means to prevent it fl0lI1 ;-dljOpping out of the slot. It is obvious thatpins or'projections of any kind will suffice for this purpose; but I prefer the plan shown in Fig. 4, in which there is shown a cap or end piece D secured to the end of the shelf, this cap having a central web or projection made in the form of a wedge, and which is inserted into a split or cleft made in the end of the shelf and glued fast. The upper rounded edge of this cap D makes a neat finish and does away with the sharp corner or angle that would be objectionable for the hand or arm to come in contact with, while the wedge shaped portion thickens or spreads out the sides of the shelf at that point, so that it is slightly thicker than the slot is wide, and hence when the shelf is dropped down to the position shown in Fig. 2 it will wedge fast in the slot just before the projecting edges of the cap D come in. contact with the plate 0, thereby not only preventing the loosening of the cap, but also preventing the noise that would result if the cap were to strike and rest freely on the plate, it also serving to hold the shelf still in the slot and preventing it from being moved about and producing a noise, as it otherwise would. It also does away with the necessity of any fastening at the bottom. While I prefer this form of guide or confining device for the shelf, it is obvious that it may be modified in various ways and yet operate the same. For instance, if the shelf is to be applied to chairs having flat wide arms, as shown in Fig. 5, the plate may be made narrowerand be set upon the top of the arm A, as there shown, a corresponding slot of course being cut in the arm itself, or the guide 0 may be made as represented in Fig. 3 and be hinged to the edge of the arm, in which case it will turn with the shelf when the latter is turned to either the horizontal or the vertical position. So, too, in case the arms of the chair be round, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the guide may be made in the form of an elongated staple and be secured to the arm at an angle of forty-five degrees, as there shown, or it maybe secured to a sleeve fitted on the arm, as shown in Fig.8, the guide in this latter case being free to turn on the arm as the shelf is moved from the horizontal to the vertical position. lVhichever of these forms of guides is used, it will be seen that the result is the same-that is to say, with either of them the shelf can be raised vertically and then be swung over the horizontal position and made to rest upon the arms of the chair, and that in like manner it can be raised from the horizontal to a vertical position, and then be permitted to slide down and hang suspended by the side of the chair, so that aside from appearance and convenience of attachment it is immaterial which be used; but, as before stated, I prefer to use the form shown in Figs. 1, 2,.and 4, not only because it makes a neat finish, the plate or guide 0 being made of bronze or plated, but: also because with that the plate or guide and shelf can be made up and sold to any one, who can with very slight labor apply them to any style of chair, whether the arms be flat or round.

One great advantage of this method of at-; taching or applying the shelf is that it en' ables the chairs to set close together and still permits the raising and lowering of the shelf without in any manner interfering with the occupants of the adjoining chairs, whereas if the shelf were hinged at its end to the arm of the chair, as has been proposed, the chairs would have to be placed far enough apart to permit the shelf to be swung in the arc of a circle, the radius of which would be equal to the length of the shelf.

The convenience and advantages of this device, especially for classes of students, is too apparent to require further explanation or statement.

I am aware that patents have been granted in which a shelf is shown pivoted to one arm to swing around in a horizontal plane and others hinged to swing over in a vertical plane; that tables have been hinged to the wall in such a manner as to permit them'to be changed from a vertical to a horizontal position, and that a patent has been granted for a sewingmachine table in which a leaf was arranged to slide part of its length in a slot cut in the table-top and form one side of the case, and I do not claim any of these; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. The herein described attachment for chairs, consisting of a slotted guide provided with seats or bearings at the ends of the slot or opening and a shelf or board adapted to slide in the slot or opening and provided with lugs or stops to engage with said seats or bearings. substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the arm of a chair, a slotted guide 0, provided with the raised sockets a, and a shelf B, provided with the laterally-projecting ears or lugs c, said shelf being arranged to slide in or through said guide and when raised to have its ears or lugs rest in said sockets, whereby the shelf can hang suspended by the side of the chair, be drawn up vertically, and then swung over to a horizontal position and rest on the arms of the chair, as set forth.

3. In combination with the guide C, provided with a slot for the shelf to slide in, the shelf B, having one of its ends made of suflicient thickness to cause said shelf to be held in the guide by friction when suspended therein, as set forth.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in'the presence of two witnesses.

HORACE A. Donen, O. M. BALL. 

